The present invention relates to a double-row, radially self-aligning roller bearing comprised of inner and outer race rings, two rows of barrel-shaped rollers and two single-piece cages.
Various types of self-aligning roller bearings are already known. These bearings, however, are always expensive to fabricate as it is always necessary to precisely guide the rollers. In one type of bearing, fixed or loose guide rims are necessary for this guidance, particularly on the inner race ring. Their manufacture is difficult and expensive. Furthermore, it is necessary to precisely comply with the roller, race rings and guide-rim profiles. In this way, the manufacture of the bearing is made even more expensive.
In another type of bearing without a rim, the guiding of the rollers takes place on the roller surface. Here strong sheet-metal or solid cages are necessary in order to prevent skewing of the rollers. When comb-like cages are used, annular, additional holding rims must also be provided so that the rollers do not drop out when the inner race ring is swung out. Another disadvantage is that due to the above-mentioned measures, for a given axial width of the bearing race rings, the rollers cannot exceed a given length. As a result, the load carrying capacity of the bearings is limited. As a result of using solid, comb-like cages and sheet-metal window cages, the race ring width is limited since the cages must be smaller than the diameter of the opening of the outer race ring.